


Laughter

by leowritestuff



Series: Zukka Week 2018 [2]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-22
Updated: 2018-01-22
Packaged: 2019-03-08 05:15:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13451328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leowritestuff/pseuds/leowritestuff
Summary: For Zukka Week Day Two Jokes & Sarcasm // Laughter





	Laughter

Sokka sat on the soft pale sand, listening to the crashing of waves and his husband's breathing, Sokka's head leaning on Zuko's shoulder. It was a silent, late evening. The two of them were alone, hidden away on a section of Ember Island's beach that Zuko owned, one Sokka remembers from long ago, back before the war ended. He remembers that time, with Katara, Aang, Toph, and Suki, chilling out and being teenagers despites the impending doom. Sokka even remembers that play, though he forget the name, and the irony of its romance between Zuko and Katara, and where they ended up now. A thought came to mind.

"Hey Zuko," Sokka asked, running his hands through his hair. Occasionally Sokka's fingers would brush against the blue silk of Zuko's bethrothal necklace.

"Hum?" Zuko hummed, resting his head on Sokka's. He was smiling of into the distance, content.

 _He deserves to be_ , Sokka thinks. Zuko's always worrying about politics and his people and his job and the Earth Kingdom, afraid he's going to mess up, afraid he isn't doing enough, afraid he's doing the wrong thing. _Its crazy_ , Sokka thinks, how much Zuko cares. But its also one of the reasons he loves him so much. Someone as amazing as Zuko deserves to be happy, deserves to be at peace.

"When did you fall in love with me?" Sokka asks.

Zuko glances at Sokka, before turning his back towards the sea, lips pursed in thought. "Why are you asking this?"

"Just wondering." Sokka sighs dreamily, listening to the steady rise and fall of Zuko's breath.

Zuko is silent, waiting for Sokka to elaborate.

"I was just lost in thought, thinking about this place. Do you remember the play about us?"

Zuko groans and mutters,"I hated that play." His face scrunches up in confusion, pulling backwards to look at Sokka."How did thinking about that get you to thinking about us?"

Sokka whines at the loss of his warm pillow, aka Zuko's shoulder. "Jerk," Sokka mutters, though its teasing and he doesn't really mean anything about it.

Sokka sits up straight, adjusting himself to get more comfortable, then slumps over, deciding good posture wasn't for him. "You know how actor you and the actor that played my sister," Sokka grimaced,"Kissed? Or whatever it was."

Zuko groans again, grimacing. "Why are we even talking about this?"

"Its just," Sokka looks out into the ocean,"Really weird how things turned out. Who ever guessed I'd end up with you? That play sure didn't."

Zuko chuckles slightly. "So you wanna know when I fell in love with you?"

"Well, yeah!" Sokka exclaimed, smiling at Zuko. "I know why, I'm awesome. But the real question is when?"

"Well I," Zuko stopped to think, looking off at the ocean,"...Its less a question of when I fell in love, but more of when I realized I liked you."

"Really?" Sokka asked. "Well for me, I always knew you where hot. Even Toph knows you're hot, and she's blind! But then I, ya know, started to have a crush on you, started to fall in love with you."

"I still remember that moment." Zuko said. "You where talking, I can't remember what it was about-"

"I thought you said you remembered!" Sokka teased.

"Anyways, you were joking around or something- all I know it was something funny-"

"I'm always funny!"

"I know. But this in particular was special somehow. Because I laughed."

Sokka looked at Zuko now confused. "But you laugh a lot?"

Zuko smiled, and spoke softly. "Yeah, because of you."

Sokka blushed, hiding his face in his hands. "If you keep doing that," Sokka muttered through his hands,"You're going to kill me."

"Killed by compliments. I'm sure that can happen." Zuko smirked.

"Shut up." Sokka burried his face further into his hands. Zuko smiled, chuckling.

Zuko's tone changed, less teasing and taunting, but softer now, almost far away, lost in nostalgia. He was smiling though, looking off into the sunset as if he could see the moment there. "I remember laughing. It was the hardest I've ever laughed, or at least it felt like it, and I know, I know for sure it was the first time I had laughed since my mother left."

Sokka looked up from his hands,"Really?"

Zuko nodded. "It was the happiest I've ever been in the longest time. And it was because of you." A smile curved its way onto Zuko's lips, and he looked softly at Sokka. "That's the moment I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you."

Sokka looked at Zuko, cheeks slowly turning red. "You- You- Really? You- Really?"

Zuko nodded. He touched his pointer and middle finger to the stone on his necklace. "And I still do. Want to spend the rest of my life with you, that is."

Sokka smiled.

"What about you?" Zuko asked.

"Me?" Sokka pointed to himself.

"When did you..." Zuko started to blush,"um... start to... fall in love with me?"

"I think," Sokka thought back, before chuckling,"I think it was the same moment. You laughed, it was the first time I ever heard you. You laughed and I knew I was doomed."

"Doomed?" Zuko asked, eyebrows furrowed slightly.

"Yeah." Sokka laughed. "I was doomed to fall in love with a jerk like you." He smiled, beaming from ear to ear.

Zuko chuckled. "Poor you."

"Yeah! And now I'm stuck with you!" Sokka flopped down on the sandy floor dramtically.

Zuko touched his necklace and smiled. He flopped down besides Sokka. "Yeah, we're stuck together."

"All because you laughed." Sokka stuck his tongue out at Zuko.

"All because I laughed." Zuko repeated, smiling.

And there the two lay together, looking up at the night sky, smiling. All because Sokka made Zuko laugh.


End file.
